CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - More than three months after a severe motorcycle accident on Sullivan's Island, the survivor met the Charleston County first responders who saved his life.
Lt. Abner Martinez went around the room one by one, introducing himself to everyone who played a role in his rescue on Sept. 14.
"If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't be here myself. You guys are the definition of a true hero. Every single one of you," Martinez said.
More than a dozen 911 call center workers, police officers, sheriff's deputies, paramedics and firefighters gathered to meet the man they last saw injured in the street and then put in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.
"I remember laying on the ground and just remember coughing up blood and just accepting I'm like this, this is bad. And if nobody shows up on time, it's my time. And thankfully, your guys' training comes second nature. Totally understand that part, because you guys showed up, y'all helped me, so thank you guys very much," Martinez said.
Martinez handed out certificates and thanked every person in the room one by one, at least twice. His wife and child were with him the whole time.
Paramedic Carter Faulkner was one of the first called to the scene. He commends his team for their quick efforts that day and remembers how bad Martinez's injuries were. He had more than 20 internal injuries, a slow pulse, high heart rate, low oxygen and struggled to breathe. After inserting IVs and lots of other emergency measures in the ambulance. Faulkner says Martinez finally regained consciousness.
"We were able to talk to him and the only thing he could talk about was his family. So it's super amazing to see him with his family here today. It's super touching. It's very amazing," Faulkner said.
Chief of Charleston County EMS, David Abrams, got emotional as he congratulated his team members, and every agency on the scene, on their life-saving work that day.
"It really does reiterate how many people it takes to make this happen in public safety, no matter which agency you're from or which discipline you're a part of. They recognized a lot of life-saving measures that needed to happen. And if they had missed one of those, we wouldn't be standing here. If every one of these people up here, from the telecommunicators, law enforcement to fire to EMS to our receiving hospital personnel and professionals, if any one of those didn't happen the way it happened, we wouldn't be standing here," Abrams said.
Abrams said this is a good reminder to wear a helmet on the roads as well. Adam Ivan, Captain at the Sullivans Island Fire Department, also wanted to thank Martinez for what he means to the people who responded to the scene. He says they often don't see the full process of a response, just their field and don't always know the outcome.
"So when we sent you out to the hospital, we hardly ever hear back. So thank you very much for reaching out and giving us inspiration to see what our choice to get into emergency service was. It makes us want to go back and train harder and be ready," Ivan said.
Faulkner echoed that feeling, saying everyone he's met in first response went into this hoping to make a difference, but never expecting to be a part of someone's story for long. This case and its lessons of teamwork and thankfulness will stick with him forever.
"This will transcend EMS, if I continue to go on and do something else, this will follow me for the rest of my life. I hope to stay in contact with him, and just follow his journey and watch his daughter grow up, so it's beautiful," Faulkner said.